109
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
2
Direct injuries
$2.5M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Minnesota: 109 recorded events between 1973 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 104. That places the county #2,099 nationally and #56 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Minnesota: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Pope County is the 2000s, when 28 of the county's 109 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Pope County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 36.2% of all recorded severe weather across 7 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #2,099 for this hazard and #56 within Minnesota, putting it in the 33.1 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Pope County with 43 recorded events, while Jan is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 4, 2003 | STARBUCK | 68 | 0 | 2 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 27, 2025 | STARBUCK | 53 | $0 |
| Jul 27, 2025 | STARBUCK | 55 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | VILLARD | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | GLENWOOD | 56 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | VILLARD | 52 | $0 |
| Jun 2, 2025 | STARBUCK | 56 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2023 | GILCHRIST | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2023 | STARBUCK | 50 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2023 | CYRUS | 50 | $10K |
| Jun 21, 2022 | GLENWOOD ARPT | 57 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Pope County
- Hail 131
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along a sixteen mile long path of damage with a swath about six to eight miles wide that occurred from Farwell and northern Starbuck, to the southern side of Lake Minnewaska and the southeast side of Glenwood. An electric transmission company had three metal truss towers collapse about 2.5 miles east of Lowry. The towers were 187 feet tall, with 1700 feet of spacing between each tower. Using the enhanced Fujita scale, damage indicator 24 (ETL) applies very well; its lower bound for a degree of damage 6 is 116 mph (101 knots). The towers were rated for 120 mph. Eight miles to the southeast of the towers, on the southern fringe of the swath, an observer with a home weather station two miles south of Glenwood measured 91 mph before the power went out. The anemometer was mounted ten feet above the top of the house, and was above the tree tops. Windows were blown in and shingles ripped off. The roof of an adjacent house was blown away, and numerous trees were toppled or broken.
Severe straight-line winds caused a widespread area of damage from north of Terrace, east-northeast through the Sedan area towards Grove Lake. Damages consisted of uprooted trees, structural damage, and damage to grain bins.
Several large trees, and powerlines were blown down in Glenwood, some were blocking roads. South of Kensington, several larger tree branches were blown down. Other areas along highway 55 had some tree branches blown down. Trees and powerlines also blown down on the east side of Grove Lake, with two reported pontoons flipped over on Lake Minnewaska.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Pope County, Minnesota?
109 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Pope County between 1973 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Pope County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Pope County measured 104.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Pope County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Pope County, Minnesota.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/minnesota/pope-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.